What do I tell an electrician when planning a new tank build?

BZOFIQ

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vetteguy53081

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Montiman

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Yeah I don’t hear of too many people running chillers unless they are still running metal halides or live in the south with routine 100+ temps.

Say you keep your house at 74 degrees (pretty warm) I think it would take a lot of LEDs to heat the tank 4 degrees to 78. Then to get to 80 where I would start to get worried about it, you’re talking another 2 degrees. Chiller makes sense if you’re keeping colder water creatures
Id bet you can get away with a fan.
I find the idea of 74 degrees inside being warm as a little funny. As someone from the southwest, I keep the AC at 80 when out of the house and 77 when inside and still have a ridiculous AC bill. I know multiple people who turn the ac to 84 or 85 when out of the home and 80 when inside. A chiller really can save you money in my area. The AC bill is ridiculous and it is cheaper to chill a tank than a large home.

I also like having a chiller for peace of mind. The worst tank crash I have ever had came when my AC went out and It took 4 days to fix. I lost all of my corals and the home got to 130 degrees indoors. No amount of floating water bottles or fans was going to chill the water but had I had a good chiller then I might have saved the tank. I now have a 1HP chiller that makes me sleep better. It required me to put in a second 20 amp circuit.
 

A_Blind_Reefer

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I find the idea of 74 degrees inside being warm as a little funny. As someone from the southwest, I keep the AC at 80 when out of the house and 77 when inside and still have a ridiculous AC bill. I know multiple people who turn the ac to 84 or 85 when out of the home and 80 when inside. A chiller really can save you money in my area. The AC bill is ridiculous and it is cheaper to chill a tank than a large home.

I also like having a chiller for peace of mind. The worst tank crash I have ever had came when my AC went out and It took 4 days to fix. I lost all of my corals and the home got to 130 degrees indoors. No amount of floating water bottles or fans was going to chill the water but had I had a good chiller then I might have saved the tank. I now have a 1HP chiller that makes me sleep better. It required me to put in a second 20 amp circuit.
You and I must be in the same area! Even outside of Phoenix, a chiller is great peace of mind. Who wants to look at a 1970s oscillating fan on top of their sleek rimless tank anyway. Just because it might work doesn’t mean everyone should have one. Besides looking like crap they’re hazardous. They’re 110v (except ones like the tunze), not mounted great and generally get full of the nasties after a while. Chillers are great! Also, add Uv (not the fake toy ones) and tell me your temp doesn’t go up
 

A_Blind_Reefer

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Yes I'm running LED's. I want a chiller because I might be a bit obsessed with consistency in temperature. My current tank is a Reefer 170 with a 1/10hp chiller. My temperature only fluctuates about 3 degrees at most. Maybe it's overkill? Either way, I have space and peace of mind when I'm not home running the A/C would be nice.

I've been able to leave my tank completely unattended (knock on wood) for a month, multiple times a year, for 5-ish years now. I do have a neighbor come check every few days, apex alarms, and a webcam on it just in case. So getting a chiller is going to be good... unless I've been overthinking it.
Chillers are great peace of mind. I’m some areas, like where I’m at, they are a necessity. It is true, fans can work, depending on relative humidity and temp, but it sounds like your spending a bit of money on a sleek setup….. who wants a custom/semi custom tank with an ugly and quite honestly, hazardous fan on top? Tunze makes a fan but I find that it didn’t move a lot of air and required constant cleaning.
 

BZOFIQ

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I find the idea of 74 degrees inside being warm as a little funny. As someone from the southwest, I keep the AC at 80 when out of the house and 77 when inside and still have a ridiculous AC bill. I know multiple people who turn the ac to 84 or 85 when out of the home and 80 when inside. A chiller really can save you money in my area. The AC bill is ridiculous and it is cheaper to chill a tank than a large home.

I also like having a chiller for peace of mind. The worst tank crash I have ever had came when my AC went out and It took 4 days to fix. I lost all of my corals and the home got to 130 degrees indoors. No amount of floating water bottles or fans was going to chill the water but had I had a good chiller then I might have saved the tank. I now have a 1HP chiller that makes me sleep better. It required me to put in a second 20 amp circuit.

74 is indeed warm - We set our A/C to 70.

Perhaps in super dry climates, 74 is sufficient.

I do run in a small chiller in the summer months when temps are high and the tank dosn't cool enough on its own at night.
 

RichReef

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Dedicated breaker and line.
10 gauge wire.
20 AMP GFCI breaker.
2 20 AMP outlets. Split your equipment between them in case one has a problem.

All done. No worries.
 

Reef.

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My house is undergoing a bit of a remodel, and I want to put a custom tank in the living room. The home is pretty old, and the main panel is equally old. I'm getting a EV car charger installed, so we'll be updating the main panel anyway, but I want to get this setup for my future tank as well. I'm not sure what to tell the electrician. How can I estimate how much "electricity" needs the panel should be upgraded to?

My equipment list with electricity is roughly:
1. ReefOctopus VarioS-8 return pump
2. NYOS Quantum 220 skimmer
3. Neptune ApexEL, Trident, DOS, ATK
4. 2x Maxspect XF360 gyres
5. 2x ReeFi Uno lights
6. 1/5 HP Chiller
7. 2x 150watt heaters (controlled additionally by Apex)
8. Fleece Roller
9. 40 watt UV (running 24/7)
10. 60 watt Icecap Algae Scrubber (running reverse lighting schedule)
11. Maybe another Vario-S 4 pump (unless I can get a manifold setup with my return pump)

Do I just calculate all the watts? Amps? and then send that to the electrician?
You tell him nothing, a good electrician will ask you all the relevant questions, he’s the trained person not you.
 

BZOFIQ

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Dedicated breaker and line.
10 gauge wire.
20 AMP GFCI breaker.
2 20 AMP outlets. Split your equipment between them in case one has a problem.

All done. No worries.


No need to use 10GA wire for 20Amp circuits.

20Amp circuit calls for 12GA wire - there is plenty of calculated overhead with 12GA wire.
 

ZombieEngineer

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No need to use 10GA wire for 20Amp circuits.

20Amp circuit calls for 12GA wire - there is plenty of calculated overhead with 12GA wire.
^this there is no reason to use 10GA on a 20A circuit in a home environment. All that does is double the wire cost for no actual benefit.
 

AshyLarry

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This doesn't make sense. What can you possibly plug into a 30Amp outlet?
No idea, better to have and not need right? You can get 30 amp 120v breakers. But if a couple 20amp circuits work I might just go that way. Like I said I'm still in the planning stages
 

ZombieEngineer

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No idea, better to have and not need. You can get 30 amp 120v breakers. But if a couple 20amp circuits work I might just go that way. Like I said I'm still in the planning stages
30A should only be used for very specific devices requiring it. 30A is actually a fire hazard for 5-15P or 5-20P receptacle use and is not allowed under the NEC. The reason for this is the devices you will plug into the outlets as well as the outlets themselves are only rated for 20A. If a short happens that pulls 21-30A you have an electrical fire now.
 
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BZOFIQ

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No idea, better to have and not need right? You can get 30 amp 120v breakers. But if a couple 20amp circuits work I might just go that way. Like I said I'm still in the planning stages


You cannot use a 30 Amp breaker with 20 Amp outlets, that's all I'm saying.

30Amp breaker requires 10Ga wire and 30Amp outlet that looks like one of these. You'll have no use for it around the tank. Just run multiple 15 or 20Amp circuits instead.

1655995703456.png
 

BZOFIQ

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^this there is no reason to use 10GA on a 20A circuit in a home environment. All that does is double the wire cost for no actual benefit.

... and the 10GA wire may not properly fit terminals on a standard 20Amp outlet.
 

RichReef

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Did I need 10 GA? Nope.

Do I have 10 GA? Yes.

Is my wire burning? Nope.

Did it fit the outlet? Yes.

Is it a problem? Nope.

Is it better? .... YES.

The inspector liked it. He was happy. Told me it was smart. Especially after seeing the MH lighting.

Like I said. No worries. You do you.
 

BZOFIQ

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Did I need 10 GA? Nope.

Do I have 10 GA? Yes.

Is my wire burning? Nope.

Did it fit the outlet? Yes.

Is it a problem? Nope.

Is it better? .... YES.

The inspector liked it. He was happy. Told me it was smart. Especially after seeing the MH lighting.

Like I said. No worries. You do you.


Looking at your sig I understand your mentality and approach. Is it better? I don't see how, unless its a very long run where you are derating wire gauge. 10Gauge wire will not burn where 12 Gauge wire would not.

Wire choice goes by Amp rating and not by whether you plug MH or LEDs into it. An MH fixture drawing 1000W will not be different than multiple LED fixtures drawing exactly 1000W or a heater drawing 1000W. You can certainly do you but why recommend it?

Do you also tell people to fill their tanks with racing fuel to get their groceries?
 

A_Blind_Reefer

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30A should only be used for very specific devices requiring it. 30A is actually a fire hazard for 5-15P or 5-20P receptacle use and is not allowed under the NEC. The reason for this is the devices you will plug into the outlets as well as the outlets themselves are only rated for 20A. If a short happens that pulls 21-30A you have an electrical fire now.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen 20a breakers with 14g romex. Or worse, people that used existing 14/2 (originally a 110v/15a circuit) and swapped the breaker and outlet so they could have a 30a/220v circuit in their garage!
 

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How do I calculate watts for this chiller?
150 Watts. Done.
 

trevorhiller

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I find the idea of 74 degrees inside being warm as a little funny. As someone from the southwest, I keep the AC at 80 when out of the house and 77 when inside and still have a ridiculous AC bill. I know multiple people who turn the ac to 84 or 85 when out of the home and 80 when inside. A chiller really can save you money in my area. The AC bill is ridiculous and it is cheaper to chill a tank than a large home.

I also like having a chiller for peace of mind. The worst tank crash I have ever had came when my AC went out and It took 4 days to fix. I lost all of my corals and the home got to 130 degrees indoors. No amount of floating water bottles or fans was going to chill the water but had I had a good chiller then I might have saved the tank. I now have a 1HP chiller that makes me sleep better. It required me to put in a second 20 amp circuit.
I haven't personally been to Pheonix, but I've heard from my family the weather there feels completely different from the northeast US. Less humidity making the higher temps more tolerable. Where I live right now if your indoor temp was 84-85 everyone would be sweating, most keep it 68-72 around here. That was why I prefaced with "unless you live in the south."

The post was more about the thought experiment of thinking through what the OPs normal room temp is and if he/she thought the LEDs would warm it up enough degrees over that to be concerned rather than the specific numbers. But, if typical room temp is > than desired tank temp....chiller is for you.
 

SteveMM62Reef

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Actually the 10 gauge wire is smart for Metal Halides. Devices that produce a lot of heat, tend to try and turn the entire circuit into a heater. There’s a name for this effect, but I forgot what it is.
 

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